The exhibition Okamoto Taro: A Retrospective was a great success, and has now come to an end. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who visited the show, which saw a larger turnout than expected. I would also like to apologize to the many people who visited the museum but could not see the exhibition because of the fact that we had limited the number of visitors in order to ensure a better viewing environment.

I do not think it was nostalgia for Okamoto Taro, creator of the Tower of the Sun, that brought visitors to the exhibition so much as a desire to feel the vitality of Okamoto’s work directly due to feelings of fascination, respect, and inspiration toward an artist who battled his way through the art world of the twentieth century. What we rediscovered through the show was probably something that we living today in the twenty-first century need. I feel this exhibition provided something that is truly necessary for people today.

Many young people and children coming with their parents were among the visitors to the exhibition. This experience learning about Okamoto Taro has likely made a big impact on them. I feel the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka opened in order to make experiences like this possible. The museum will strive to provide more artistic experiences that city residents feel necessary and worthwhile. So, you can look forward to a continuing series of interesting exhibitions.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone who was involved in the exhibition, and rejoice together with them in the fact that it was a big hit and came to a successful end.

18:30 October 2, 2022
Sugaya Tomio
Director, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka